Greek wind power developers have struck a deal with Scurry County officials to construct a wind farm across 32,000 leased acres of privately owned ranch and farm land. Athens, Greece-based Terna Energy will develop and operate the county’s seventh wind farm.

County officials recently approved a 2017 completion date for the Fluvanna Wind Energy Project, according to Scurry County Judge Ricky Fritz. Once completed, the project is expected to generate 380 megawatts of wind energy per year -- enough to supply roughly 110,200 homes.

Terna Energy facilities currently generate 885 megawatts of renewable energy per year in Europe and the U.S. The West Texas project will be the company’s first in Texas and second in the U.S., according to company officials.

In an agreement with the county, the wind developers will pay no county taxes. Instead, Terna Energy will pay $780 per megawatt produced each year for the first five years, and $1,220 per megawatt produced for the next five years, according to Fritz. The arrangement has become a common model between wind developers and rural counties across West Texas, Fritz said.

Terna Energy will also pay wind royalties to the several landowners through the company’s Wind Force Plan, which gives local landowners and community investors opportunities to have partial ownership of the project.

“Through our partnership with the community managers and more than 130 landowners and community investors participating in the Fluvanna Project, we’ve been able to work together to bring about a high level of local support and attention to wind energy,” said John Billingsley, CEO of Tri Global Energy -- the Dallas-based company that founded the project and facilitated its sale to the Greek company.

“There will be land payments to the property owners, so they do receive compensation and that goes right into the local economy,” Fritz said. “And they’ll still be able to farm the land and run the cows on it. It’s a win-win for our area for sure.”

The rural economy also will be significantly impacted during the construction phase of the project, which employs local resources and construction crews for groundwork and foundation construction, he said.

With nearly 400 wind turbines in the county as of 2015, Scurry County, which includes Snyder, is one of Texas’ leading generators of wind energy. Nolan County, which includes Sweetwater, leads the state in generation with a total of 1,371 turbines producing 2,060 megawatts of energy per year.

“The measured wind speeds and capacity at the Fluvanna Wind Energy Project are among the best in the world,” according to Tri Global Energy. Once the project is completed, it will feed into the state grid through the recently completed Competitive Renewable Energy Zone, which has increased transmission capacity between the West Texas region and the metropolitan areas of the state.

Wind developers began erecting turbines in Scurry County about 11 years ago, Fritz said. Having made 10-year abatement plans with developers then, the county is now beginning to see new revenue pour into their coffers for the first time.